The field of the invention is apparatus for treating food and the present invention is particularly concerned with the preparation of meat products prior to packaging or canning.
The state of the art of methods and apparatus for preparing canned meat products which includes macerating the major sections may be ascertained by reference to U.S. Pat. No. 3,644,125, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein.
Tenderizing of pieces of meat by puncturing or slitting of the surfaces of the pieces of meat prior to canning is known. It is also known to puncture stacked pieces of meat and then to mold a composite assembly of the punctured pieces to a desired shape. Even when gelatin is applied to the pieces, the pieces are not firmly bonded together.